Thursday’s Top Stocks
‘Aahh, back to the glory days of yesteryear.’ Mr. Softy
(MSFT) raced
out of the opening gate to break above a multiweek trading range to lead the
software sector
(
SWH |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) to the top spot in Wednesday’s trade. Unfortunately,
Bill Gates’ good fortune (and window of opportunity?) did not translate into
further gains for the NASDAQ or Q’s. Although the Q’s did manage to notch a
fresh high, a possible bout of profit-taking kept the index proxy fractionally
down on the day. The Diamonds and Spyders however were able to maintain their
composure, with both closing up about .55% on heavy, above-average volume,
keeping Wall Street and Elliot Spitzer’s Main Street, both very happy
for the
time being.
I think if you listened closely you could hear some of the bulls making those
quacking noises today. Some ‘folks’ might say that the buying power was exceptional
today…probably the same ones that were naysaying the pullback opportunity
over a week ago. Unfortunately, after six sessions of rallying to fresh highs,
and thru summer-long consolidation ranges, the ETFs and individual stocks are
most likely due for a break. What!! Yep, with some strong technical evidence
looming overhead by way of Fibonacci resistance levels and price projections,
the fantastic job the market has done of ‘brushing aside’ the bad news, and
now the cacophony of missing out (quack), or just plain ol’ short side capitualation…it
just seems an awfully bad time to throw caution to the wind. My internal market
barometer is telling me to keep it light and tight as we head higher up the
ol’ trading tree.
Today, was another treat for those daytraders who prepared ahead of time,
especially if you kept both lists handy. Actually, you probably didn’t even
need to necessarily focus on a Low RS list for potential shorts, as many High
RS stocks provided opportunities from both sides of the market. To some,
it might seem the intraday volatility gives gifts like that (shorts and longs)
in the unlikeliest of
places, but if you stay focused on the setup, and not the ‘setups’, you’ll probably
find the opportunities have an amazing tendency to stare you right in
your ‘best game face.’
Volatility Readings:
| Volatility Index | Close | Net Change | Signals/Direction | % Above/Below 10 Day Moving Average | Significance |
| VIX ( $VIX | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
20.43 | up .46 | none | 2% above | Not At Extreme |
| VXN ( $VXN | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
31.19 | up 1.13 | none | 5% above | Not At Extreme |
Hottest Sectors : Networking (NWX) and Software (SWH)
Weakest Sectors : Semiconductors
(
SMH |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) and Internet
(
HHH |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
Thursday’s stocks to watch:
Technical Strength Top of Range.
Stocks are scanned from TM’s Proprietary and Technology 10 Momentum lists on
the Indicators page, as well as being hand selected, based on the most recent
technical action. This may include some or all of the following: abnormal
volume, price patterns, as well as bullish action off of technical price
supports or clearance of technical resistance in that day’s session.
| Name | Symbol | Price | Technical Strength | Average Volume 000’s | Today’s Volume |
| Ivax | ( IVX | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
20.19 | Intraday cup and handle pattern near daily cup pivots on strong volume |
1,256 | 1,835 |
| MDC Holdings | ( MDC | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
52.80 | Wide range bar w/confirming volume to close at highs of day within 1% of weekly handle triggers |
273 | 301 |
| Andrews | ( ANDW | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
13.05 | Intraday top of range close on high volume confirmation of daily cup and handle b/o |
2,639 | 6,386 |
| CH Robinson | ( CHRW | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
39.25 | 17-Week consolidation b/o on strong volume, to close in top of range consolidation |
371 | 585 |
| New Century Financial | ( NCEN | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
26.39 | Narrow range consolidation day on volume, after daily b/o thru congestion pattern and 50-Day EMA |
1,076 | 723 |
| Epicor | ( EPIC | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
9.07 | Top of range close, fresh 52-week high on high volume continuation trade of recent b/o |
476 | 693 |
Technical Weakness Bottom of Range.
Stocks are scanned from TM’s Implosion and Technology Implosion Lists on the
Indicators page, as well as being hand selected, based on the most recent
technical action. This may include some or all of the following: abnormal
volume, price patterns, as well as bearish technical action at key support,
or resistance levels based on closing prices.
| Name | Symbol | Price | Technical Strength | Average Volume 000’s | Today’s Volume |
| Agco | ( AG | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
20.50 | Daily break of handle and 20-Day EMA on volume, to close at bottom of range in consolidation |
1,172 | 1,129 |
| Amerisourcebergen | ( ABC | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
56.82 | Bottom of range consolidation on Low RS issue, heavy volume gap lower |
1,351 | 3,386 |
Stock Reversal Setups Closing Basis.
Stocks that are setting up on a closing basis as potential long or short reversal pattern
candidates. Candidates listed may have triggered on a closing basis, or close
to triggering ( my general rule is to list the pattern setup if it is within
+/-.15 of trigger price). Patterns include basing patterns (Slim Jims, 1,2,3s,
Double bottoms) consolidations, and triangle reversals. Background technical
supports in the form of Fibonacci levels, EMAs (DEMA=daily ema), RS, and former
price action are used in the decision making process.
Long Reversals Closing Basis.
| Name | Symbol | Price | Technical Strength | Average Volume 000’s | Today’s Volume |
| Â | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â |
Short Reversals Closing Basis.
| Name | Symbol | Price | Technical Strength | Average Volume 000’s | Today’s Volume |
| Xilinx | ( XLNX | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
30.32 | Wide range engulfing bar on heavy volume, closing below prior, significant daily congestion highs, in a bottom of range consolidation |
8,158 | 9,618 |
| Gen-Probe | ( GPRO | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
57.75 | 1,2,3 daily reversal continuation day on heavy volume w/ confirming negative, leading stochastics |
556 | 851 |
Institutional Favorites and Institutional Laggards.
The following stocks are selected from the Nasdaq, S&P 500 & 600 Indices,
and HOLDRs. These are normally heavily traded, liquid issues that are exhibiting
relative strength or weakness, patterns (consolidations or Slim Jims) , or
last hour volume surges, indicative of follow through in the very near term.
Institutional Favorites
| Name | Symbol | Price | Average Volume 000’s | Today’s Volume |
| Mercury Interactive | ( MERQ | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
48.11 | 2,912 | 8,075 |
| Microsoft | ( MSFT | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
28.30 | 55,463 | 108,764 |
| Johnson & Johnson | ( JNJ | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
50.24 | 8,059 | 10,259 |
Institutional Laggards.
| Name | Symbol | Price | Average Volume 000’s | Today’s Volume |
| Eli Lilly | ( LLY | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
62.10 | 3,245 | 12,168 |
| Maxim Integrated | ( MXIM | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
42.92 | 6,596 | 7,197 |
Best of luck to everyone. Please use protective stops on all trades.
Chris Tyler